Prague Offensive

The Prague Offensive was the final major engagement of World War II in Europe, occurring when the Soviet Red Army and allied troops from Poland, Romania, and Czechoslovakia launched an offensive against the German bastion of Prague in occupied Czechoslovakia from 6 to 12 May 1945. The 650,000-strong German Army Group Center under Ferdinand Schoerner and the 430,000-strong Army Group Ostmark under Lothar Rendulic were assaulted by the Soviet 1st Ukrainian Front from the north, the 4th Ukrainian Front from the east, and the 2nd Ukrainian Front from the south.

Ivan Konev's 1st Ukrainian Front pushed the 4th Panzer Army back from Riesa on 6 May 1945, starting the offensive as the Siege of Breslau came to an end. The US V Corps and US XII Corps also took part in the offensive, with the US 16th Armored Division taking Plzen and the US 4th Armored Division taking Strakonice. On 7 May 1945, the 3rd Guards Tank Army and 5th Guards Army began to fight for the city of Dresden, and the 4th Ukrainian Front advanced on Olomouc. By the end of the day, the Americans had captured Karlovy Vary and halted their offensive operations when Alfred Jodl called on all German troops to stand down across Europe; however, the Germans in Czechoslovakia continued fighting.

By the evening of 8 May 1945, Dresden had fallen to the Soviets, and Ferdinand Schoerner abandoned Army Group Center while dressed in civilian clothes, fleeing to Austria. The people of Prague rose up against the Germans in a bloody uprising, and the 3rd Guards Tank Army and 4th Guards Tank Army reached Prague at daybreak on 9 May 1945. Surviving German troops reluctantly decided to flee west to surrender to the US Army rather than be attacked by Soviet columns, Czechoslovak partisans, or angry Czechs who wanted to be free from German rule. In addition, the Germans had to face the Russian Liberation Army, a group of Soviet POWs who had originally fought for Germany in exchange for their freedom; the ROA's commander Sergei Bunyachenko led the army in mutiny and hoped to reconcile with the Soviets. From 10 to 11 May, the majority of Army Group Center's troops had been captured by the Red Army, while some units continued resistance until 12 May; some small units continued fighting until the month's end. On 12 May, the US and Soviet forces met up at Chemnitz, Karlovy Vary, and Plzen, ending the offensive. The offensive was the last major Soviet offensive of World War II in Europe, and it is considered to be the last European battle of the war.